According to a study published in the January issue of the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, a one-on-one preoperative physical therapy (PT) education session along with web-based information may help reduce time to PT discharge for patients undergoing unilateral total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). 

Members of the research team conducted a prospective study of 126 typical arthroplasty patients, 63 of whom received a one-time, one-on-one session with a physical therapist and given access to a lateralized, joint-specific microsite with detailed information on exercises, transfers, ambulation, and activities of daily living, and 63 of whom received no additional information. Compared to patients in the control cohort, patients in the intervention cohort had fewer postoperative inpatient PT visits and achieved readiness to discharge from PT more quickly. However, the researchers note that there was no significant difference in length of stay or Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores at 6-week follow-up. Learn more...